Device for enhancing the resiliency of vehicle-springs



T, J. PRIESTLEY, JR. DEVICE FOR ENHANCING THE RESILIENCY OF VEHICLE SPRINGS.

APPLlCATlON FILED FEB. l, 192].

Patented Apr. 5, 1921.

WITNESS UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

THOMAS J. PRIESTLEY, are, or PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

DEVICE FOR ENHANCING THE RESILIENCY OF VEHICLE-SPRINGS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 5, 1921.

Application filed February 1, 1921. Serial No. 441,5 0.

have invented certain new and useful lm provements in Devices for Enhancing the Resiliency of Vehicle-Springs, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawing.

My invention is more particularly for use in connection with the springs of automobiles, a principal object of the invention being to provide a device effective to enhance the resiliency and flexibility of the springs to which it may be attached for the purpose of improving the riding qualities of the vehicle of which the springs form a component part. Further objects of the invention are to provide means for the purpose and of the character aforesaid, which are extremely simple in construction, which may be readily operatively attached to the spring of a vehicle and which, when so attached, facilitate the introduction of lubricant-between the spring leaves, its retention therebetween and distribution over the rub bing surfaces thereof. Additionally my invention,,when in operation, is effective to prevent lateral disalinement of the leaves composing the spring, is inconspicuous and of such simple design and construction that it may be manufactured at a relatively low cost.

These and other objects and advantages comprehended by my' invention will hereinafter more fully appear.

Broadly speaking, my invention comprises a plate of thin tempered sheet metal which is slotted and bent so as to provide a plurality of vertically stepped substantially parallel sections adapted to be positioned between the spring leaves adj acent the end of the spring, said sections being connected by marginal strips integral therewith and formed to provide a plurality of portions parallel with and adjacent said sections and Ya plurality of diagonally disposed connecting portions, these marginal strips or edges extending beyond the sides of the spring when the device is 1n position wlth the diagonal portions thereof crossing the sides of the,

leaves in angular relation thereto, the said sections being eflectlve to hold the several leaves in slightly spaced relation adjacent their ends and the diagonally extending portions of the marginal strips preventing lat eral displacement of the leaves and of the device with respect thereto.

In the accompanying drawing I have illustrated a preferred embodiment of my inventron, Figure 1 showing in side elevation the major portion of a vehicle spring of well known form with my invention inoperative position adjacent an end thereof; Fig. 2 is a similar view on a larger scale but showing only that portion of the spring adjacent its end, and Fig. 3 a vertical central section through the parts shown in Fig. 2. Fig. 4t is a top plan view of the parts shown inFig. 2, and Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the invention on a still larger scale-and removed from the spring. Like numerals are used to designate correspondingparts in the several figures. a

The inventionin the form illustrated comprises a rectangular plate, designated generally as 1, of relatively thin sheet metal,

such as spring steel, which is somewhat slots being respcctively'disposed therein. at

suitable longitudinally spaced intervals. as best shown in Fig. 5, the distance between the inner adjacent edges of each pair of slots being equal to or preferably slightly greater than the width of the spring leaves of the spring with which the device is to be employed. Adjacenteach slot two preferably parallel cuts are made in the plate normal to the slot and extending inwardly therefrom thus forming oppositely disposed spaced edges 6 and 7, while preferably angularly disposed and converging cuts are also made extending from the inner ends of the edges 6 toward the end 4 of the plate, said cuts meeting at a point 10 and thereby defining a substantially triangular tongue 11 having its base integral with the section 12, which is partially defined by the parallel slots 2 and 3 and the edges '6, and having its free end or apex extending toward the end of the slots 2, 3 and thatthere areas many pairs of such slots as may be-desired, three pairs of the same being illustrated although a greater or less number may be employed. Those portions 15,16 of the plate lying outside of the lines defined respectively by the slots 2 and the slots 3 and prolongations thereof, thus form marginal edges which are preferably extended for a short distance beyond the ends 4 and 17 of-the plate to form lugs 15, 16', the end 17 being preferably provided with an inwardly directed substantially V-shaped aperture 18 of substantially similar contour to the apertures 18 which are formed in the sections 12 by the cutting out of the tongues 11 therefrom.

While for the purpose of facilitating description I have referred to the formation of the various cuts in the plate as though the same were made consecutively, it will, of course, be understood that in actual practice such is not the case, but that the plate is blanked out fromthe sheet or strip'of metal from which it formed and the various cuts and slots made'therein preferably in a single blanking or dieing operation.

. After the completion of "such operation,

the portions 20, 21 of the marginal edges 15 and 16 lying adjacent the slots 2 and 3 are respectively progressively bent from their initial plane into angular relation with the adjacent portions ofthe marginal edges and adjacent sections 12 'soas to bring each of the latter into a plane parallel to but spaced from that'of the adjacent sections, so that when viewed as in Fig. 5 the several sections 12 and their adjacent tongues lie in substantially parallel planes each spaced from the plane of the section more nearly adjacent the end 1- for a distance substantially equal to the thickness of the spring leaves of the spring to which the device is intended to be attached, the portions of "the marginal edges directly connected to the several sections lying in the planes thereof and said portions being respectively connected-by the angularly disposed connecting portions 20, 21. It will be understood that in practice the operation of bending the marginal portions of the plate to which ref erence has just been made, may be performed simultaneously with the operation of cutting and slitting the plate or may be performed as an independent operation if desired, and that after these operations are completed, the plate will ordinarily be tempered or hardened to impart resiliency or spring thereto and prevent it underoperative conditions from assuming a different contour or acquiringa permanent set other than that which has been initially imparted to it.

The device, having been formed .prefen ably substantially in the manner hereinbefore described,'is operatively attached to the vehicle spring iby relieving the compression of thelatter by jacking up the vehicle or in any other suitable way and then :inserting the ends of the leaves'2 l in the openings'in the device formed between each of the tongues 11 and the adjacent section 12 from which the tongue has been out, each leaf be- 111g projected through the opening far enough to cover the-adj acent apertures 13'as best shownin Fig. 4:, it being of course Iundcrstood' that the length of each of the sectrons 12 will be determined in any given embodiment of the invention by the difference in the lengthsof therespeetive leaves in the particular spring with which the invention is intended for operative use, these lengths varying in different makes ofsprings. The

device having been positioned on the spring as aforesaid the marginal portions 15 16 thereof will extend beyond the side edges of the spring with the'angularllydisposed p01- tions 20, 21 ofthe marginaledges'extending across the edges of the leaves respectively adjacent thereto as bestshown in Fig. 2, thus preventing any relative lateral disalinement of the leaves and additionally preventing the device from lateral displacement with respect to the spring.

Vlfith the device in position the several leaves with which it contacts are respectively separated adjacent their ends for an amountdetermined by the thickness of the sections 12, which in practice I'prefer to make about one-sixteenth of an inch, the spaces 25 so formedbeing closed at their outerends by the material forming the sections 12 and gradually taperingbff to nothing attheir inner ends by reason of the convergence of the spring leaves.

These'spaces are adapted for the reception of a suitable lubricant which assists in the elimination of internal friction in the spring and which collects in the apertures 13 and in and about the sections 12 and tongues '11, thereby serving to lubricate the contacting surfaces of the sprlng leaves and adjacent portions of thedevice, which latter I "have foundin practice appears to have little tendency to work outwardly toward the end of the spring from its initial operative position 7 therein. In case, however, such tendency is manifested in a given installation, the outward movement of the device is ordinarily limited by contact of the end 4 or lugs 15' and 16 with the spring eye or the spring shackles, depending on the particular configuration and formation of these parts and their particular position in relation to the device in any given installation.

I have found in operative tests of my invention that the riding qualities of a vehicle such as an automobile, to the springs of which the invention has been attached, are materially improved, the flexibility and resiliency of the springs being apparently increased by the use of the lnvention and a choking or dampening effect imparted to the rebound of the springs whereby the usual unpleasant upthrow or jolting is materially lessened. Furthermore, the improvement referred to is effected independently of the matter of spring lubrication; in other words, the riding quallties of a vehicle spring'are improved by the use of the invention whether or not the adjacent faces of the leaves thereof are properly lubricated. Obviously however, the use of a suitable lubricant between the leaves of any spring is desirable, but as it is well known the usual operation of lubrieating the leaves of automobile springs is an extremely disagreeable and somewhat diffi cult job and for that reason one which is frequently entirely neglected or only performed perfunctorily at long intervals by the average owner. When, however, a spring is equipped'with my invention, the introduction of a lubricant between the leaves may be readily accomplished and the spring thus kept in properly lubricated condition with very little effort.

While I have herein shown and described with some particularity a preferred embodiment of my invention and have shown the same as attached to an automobile spring of well known form, I do not thereby desire or intend to limit myself solely to any particular details of construction as the same may be varied as desired as well as the precise form, configuration, number and arrangement of the slots and cut-out portions in the plate and the invention adapted for use with other forms of springs such as semi-elliptic or full elliptic springs without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, I claim and desire to protect by Letters Patent of the United States:

1. A device of the class described comprising spaced marginal edges and a plurality of sections adapted to rest between the leaves of a spring, said sections lying between 'said edges and in spaced substantially parallel planes, atonguehaving a free end projecting from one end of each of said sections nd an aperture in the opposite end .of each section, each of said marginal edges comprising portions lying in the planes of ,the ad acent sectionsfland.connected thereto, and angularly disposed portions connecting said first mentioned portions.

2. A device of the class described comprising spaced marginal edges, a plurality of independent sections adapted to rest between the leaves of the spring; each section integral with said edges and each having a cut-out aperture at one end, all of said sections lying in spaced substantially parallel planes, and a tongue projecting from the other end of each section, each of said marginal edges having portions respectively connected to the adjacent sections and angularly disposed portions connecting said first mentioned portions.

3. A device of the class described comprising a plurality of substantially parallel independent sections arranged in stepped relation one behind the other and adapted to lie between the leaves of a spring, each section having a cut-out aperture at one end and a triangular tongue projecting from the other end, said sections being connected by longitudinally extending marginal edges disposed on opposite sides of the sections and each comprising portions lying in the planes of the respective sections and angularly extending connecting portions therebetween.

4. A device of the class described comprising an integral sheet metal plate, said plate being cut and slotted to define a plurality of sections arranged longitudinally of the plate and adapted to lie between the leaves of a spring, said plate having marginal edges disposed on opposite sides of the sections and having portions connected to each of the respective sections and portions unconnected thereto, said last mentioned por tions being disposed in angular relation to said connected portions. 7

5. A device ofthe class described comprising an integral sheet metal plate, said plate being cut and slotted to define a plurality of independent sections each having an aperture at one end and a projecting tongue at the other, said sections being adapted to rest between the leaves of a spring, and marginal portions disposed on opposite sides of the respective sections and each connected to each section at a side thereof, the parts of said marginal portions between the portions connected to the sections being bent so as to maintain the sections in respectively parallel spaced planes.

6. A device of the class described comprisin an integral sheet of metal plate, said plate being cut and slotted to define a plurelity of sections adapted to lie between tain :the latter in substantially paraliel leavesof aspning, marginal edges disposed spaced planes.

points, the portions .of said marginal edges 192 1.

on opposite-sides of the sections andeon- In witness whereof, I have hereunto set 10 nested thereto :at longitudinajlly spaced my hand this 31st day 'of Januar'y, A. :1).

lying between :said points being bent into 1 angular relation with the sections :to 'main- THOMAS .J. PEIJEISILIBY "In. 

